The first few days were the same exercises to improve her strength and balance. He’d add a couple balancing exercises, like standing on the very ball of her foot without using her arms to steady herself, or leaning against the wall upside-down with her weight on her arms.

  Everything hurt and ached, especially the next day, but she wasn’t allowed any pain relievers. She’d have to endure the leftover soreness throughout her Practicum courses, and her coaches were starting to get her back to the normal level of difficulty, her med file clearing her to advance to more challenging exercises. Whenever she messed up a kick or felt too much pain when punched, she wished Harrison would teach her how to make up for it, but it was still the same boring, painful stuff.

  She especially wanted to learn how to kick that glitch Hillary Kaye’s face in. She was the one taking advantage of the ‘Pranks’ attribute stuck to Calista’s Rep Level. During Teamwork class, if she was in the same group with her or fighting against her, she’d do something to sabotage her under the coaches’ radar.

  During a game of Tug of War, Hillary shoved Calista forward, causing everyone to domino-fall until they lost. In Chutes and Ladders, she purposefully targeted the levers controlling Calista’s ladder rather than picking random targets, constantly turning it into a chute so she couldn’t reach the top. When she didn’t get a chance to sabotage her in some way, she would find some way to get close to her and whisper an underhanded insult about her and her family.

  Calista knew she was deliberately trying to get her to lash out so she could get in trouble for uncontrolled combat, so she held her ground, but this woman was really pushing her buttons. Harrison couldn’t stand up for her in class; Calista would be seen as overly-reliant on him and both their reputations would go to the worst level possible. She needed to handle her by herself, but how else could she make her stop? ‘Strong’ words wouldn’t stop her, they would only fan the flame.

  Hillary was the meanest, most awful Paeseoan Calista had ever met. She’d expect her kind of treatment from a Hajjian, Klausian, Dnilian, or even a Voraxian, but not someone like her. Even Rosalina Wiasod didn’t bully her as much— the most she did was laugh at her or make some snide remarks in an attempt to provoke her.

  Calista wouldn’t dare go up against Rosalina, but she wouldn’t mind a chance at beating her up once she advanced a little. How would she advance without practicing combat with Harrison, though?

  It wasn’t until that next Wednesday that he had a CD-Sim hologram waiting for her. She smiled at the sight, excited at the prospect of finally learning some new moves or techniques that would help her.

  “Stretches first,” Harrison said, standing at the AIDA screen. He was tapping on it, but the screen was shaded so she couldn’t see what he was doing.

  Calista eagerly started the stretches, anxious to start. She never thought she’d ever feel happy seeing the holographic person that always slammed her on the mat during class and embarrassed her. She breathed steadily, doing her best to endure the pain in her muscles and tendons. If Harrison saw her wincing too much, he could change his mind.

  “Done!” She hopped on her feet, spinning a little to express her good mood, and walked towards the CD-Sim.

  “Bar first,” Harrison said.

  She stopped. “But what about the…?”

  “If you hit 120 seconds on that bar, you can fight it.”

  Her jaw dropped. “It’s sixty.”

  “Now it’s 120. Get on it,” he told her without looking at her.

  -6 Rel-P

  Calista stared at him, fuming. Her left eye twitched. “I joined so you could help me get better. All you’ve had me do is hang from a bar.”

  “I am helping you. Whether you get better is up to you.” His broad shoulders shrugged.

  “Calista, calm down. Just listen to him, hang for a couple minutes, and you’ll get to fight,” Lindsay told her.

  “No, I really don’t get how hanging from a bar makes me a better fighter. I’m still getting slammed on the mat in Combat class, I can’t fight anyone in Teamwork, and in Weapon Use, I’m still stuck with the same stupid weapons while everyone else gets the good ones!”

  “I told you, you can move on when you hang for 120 seconds. Oh, and don’t collapse when you let go. If you do, you’ll start again.”

  -6 Rel-P

  Leaving Soft Friend Status

  A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

  She had had it. She stormed right over to Harrison, fully intending to kick him right in the rear and show him she was strong enough to start combat now.

  Weakness Risk: Self-Control

  Higher-Level opponent

  *Challenge not advised*

  “Calista, bad idea,” Lindsay warned her.

  Calista lifted her fists and aimed a kick right at Harrison’s behind. She couldn’t wait to hear him groan in pain and admit he was being too slow with-

  His hand caught her ankle in a tight grip. Before she could react, he’d flipped her over and she fell on her side.

  -5 Rel-P

  Downgraded: Friendly Acquaintance Status

  Interactions I

  Association I

  “Told ya,” Lindsay said.

  “Go hang on the bar,” Harrison said, turning back to the screen.

  -5 Rel-P

  Leaving Friendly Acquaintance Status

  “That doesn’t count! You saw me coming! You looked behind you!” Calista got back on her feet, slightly wincing at the impact on her side.

  “Even if I didn’t see you, that kick was cache. Go hang on the bar, and I’ll show you how to do a decent kick.”

  “Why don’t you just show me now?”

  “Because your strength and stamina are still low. The reason Practicum classes are difficult are because you get tired easily and everything hurts.”

  Weakness Active: Self-Control; Pride

  “Well, I can get my stamina up by actually fighting! Like this!” She threw a punch this time.

  Harrison turned, catching her fist in the air, and walked forward as he pushed her back. Calista tried to pull her hand back, but his grip was far too strong. “For one, your pose is still wobbly. If your legs were firm enough, I wouldn’t be able to push you back. You’re also acting out of a lack of self-control, and being angry makes you more reckless than you should be.”

  “Could you give me my hand back, please?” Calista tried pulling her wrist away, but failed to.

  Harrison stopped his pace and smirked. “Go ahead, then. Release the grip.”

  Calista huffed and swiped her forearm against his wrist, but he didn’t let go. She tried a few more times.

  -2 EP

  “Yeah, that’s not working,” Harrison said with a small chuckle.

  “Stop your stupid smiling!” Calista threw her foot forward to kick him between the legs. He easily blocked her strike and turned her around, pinning her arm behind her back. The twist brought a burst of pain to her shoulder.

  -3 EP

  “Your forearm swipe was good, but you were at the wrong angle. Someone with a higher PT like me will just brush it off. You could try hitting harder, but that hurts you because of your low tolerance. Your kick still isn’t well-balanced and you weren’t in a good stance.”

  “Then what is the good stance?” Calista strained, spinning out of the position and leaving their arms extended. Harrison still had a hold on her wrist.

  “Your legs need to be steady.” Harrison yanked on her arm, sending her stumbling. “See? If you were firmer, I wouldn’t have been able to do that.”

  “You’re stronger than me.” Calista stood up, pulling back her free fist to punch him in the chest. He caught her other wrist.

  -2 EP

  “There’s your mistake. You don’t look at an opponent and think that just because they’re stronger, you can’t beat them.” He turned her wrists to flip her over.

  Calista’s leg instinctively leapt off the mat and she followed the turn, landing unsteadily on the balls of her feet. Harrison paused, his brows raising. “That’s not bad.”

  An idea sparked and Calista threw her weight back, trying to throw him off-balance. She landed on her back and brought her feet up to kick him, but he easily flipped over her, avoiding the kick, and landed by her head with his arms behind him.

  She tried pulling again, but he started walking, dragging her with him. Once again, she couldn’t release herself. “Would you stop that?”

  He finally let her go when he reached the bar. Calista huffed, getting back up on her feet, and got into a stance, her fists ready. Harrison smirked and silently adjusted her position, tapping and lightly pushing her arms, legs, and waist until she was in the correct position. He stood back, studying her, and shrugged. “That’s okay, I guess.” He pointed at the bar. “On the bar.”

  Calista sagged. If she proved anything, it was that she was far from ready. She sighed and accepted Harrison’s offer for a boost up to the bar. “If you make it to 120, I promise I’ll let you spar, okay?” he said.

  “Fine.” Her fingers gripped the bar and she felt gravity pulling on her 115-pound body. She inhaled and exhaled steadily, watching the timer on the AIDA screen.

  “I’m glad you decided to try and fight me, though,” Harrison said as he walked back to the AIDA screen. “I figured out something about you.”

  “What?” she said, straining. 116… 115…

  “You’ll see. For now, stick with the exercises I’m giving you, follow them to the letter, and you’ll see what you’ll be able to do.”

  “Yes, sir,” she said mockingly, but smiled a bit. Harrison smiled back at her and turned away.

  +20 Rel-P

  Restored Soft Friend Status

  +Interactions II

  +Association II

  +Meeting I